Oathkeeper
by Arami Heartilly
Summary: Sora finds his dreams increasingly haunted by the memories of his nobody as Roxas's greif is getting out of control.It seems waiting until their next life isn't good enough.[AxelRoxas] some [SoraKairi]
1. Bond Of Flames

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom hearts 1 or 2, they're the property of square enix and Disney. No money has or will exchange hands as this story was purely written for entertainment value. Original characters, worlds and storylines do belong to me.

Authors note: The dreams and flashbacks in this story are not necessarily in order, I decided to put them in the order that would best suit the story.

* * *

Chapter 1 Bond of Flames

"_You think I somehow forgot that we can't feel the way whole people can?"_

"_No… that's not what I meant… I-" Roxas tried to correct himself before Axels temper flared further._

"_You what?" _

"_It's just that the way you talk… it makes me imagine that I'm a whole person again when really isn't it all just an illusion?" The blonde explained hoping that they could reach some understanding. As much as he enjoyed watching the fire wielder get angry the thought that he had caused that anger didn't rest easy with him._

"_Do you think that because Xemnas tells you is it or because that's what you really believe?"_

_Roxas considered the question for a moment. "I don't know… I can't remember who I was or what it's like to really have emotions and since no one here will tell me, his word is all I have to go on."_

"_You could always believe me." The fire wielder corrected as he came to sit next to the blonde on the window seat of his room, watching the endless darkness and the glow of kingdom hearts as it grew slowly above the castle._

"_I just don't want this 'feeling' to be degraded… I don't want to discover that this isn't what it's really like for whole people." Roxas tried to explain, his eyes never leaving the window. "We're supposed to be nobodies…I don't want to pretend to feel like the rest of them do."_

"_I don't get it." Axel told him flatly. "If you don't remember what it was like before surely you should just go with your instincts, we still have those you know." He was glaring somewhat amused by the reaction on Roxas's face. He resisted the urge to reach out and pull him closer knowing that this was something important and no time for distractions._

"_I only know that when I'm around you I don't feel so lonely." He paused, needing to form what he wanted to say in his mind before he spoke it aloud. "I guess I feel as though I belong somewhere, something I don't get when I'm with the rest of them." Roxas told him, finally turning to face him and shifting closer. "I need to be close to you or I ache… my 'heart' aches and when we're together I forget about this world, this castle you're all that matters." On his final admission he dropped his eyes to the floor, scared to see the reaction on Axels face as if he may have gone too far._

_A gentle hand touched his face, stroking him tenderly until his azure eyes met the emerald pair waiting for him._

"_That's exactly what I was trying to describe, you make me feel as though I'm whole again, and that's how it feels…felt to be alive." Axels voice was soft and Roxas felt himself falling towards him wanting to be held in those strong arms._

_But instead he felt tentative lips meet his own; applying a gentle pressure instead of the firm one he was used to. Reciprocating he realised perhaps for the first time that he didn't care about the completion of Kingdom Hearts and in that moment he could even forget about the Keyblade… this was all that mattered._

_Eventually though they broke apart albeit slowly, "Turn around." Axel said as softly as before and Roxas smiled turning so his back lay against Axels chest and his legs lay between the older boys. It made him feel safe and warm; a feeling he hoped he'd never loose. With arms wrapped around his waist met by his own they watched the swirled pink light that entered the heart shaped moon above them.

* * *

_

Sora drifted slowly from sleep, rolling in the covers as daylight greeted his eyes. He took a moment to realise where he was, almost expecting to have woken up in castle oblivion. But the view outside his window threw all thoughts of that from his mind, their play island gleamed brightly in the sunlight and the palm trees swayed in the summer breeze.

_Home, I'm home._ He reminded himself for what seemed the hundredth time since they'd returned two months ago. But he couldn't shake the feeling that resided in his heart, a deep aching that seemed to accompany his waking hours… and then there were the dreams. Vague images from his nobodies past filled his unconscious mind, some were clearer than others, the last one had been.

Pushing what he could remember from his mind and feeling as though he'd witnessed something which was meant to be private he busied himself with getting up and dressed, knowing that Kairi and Riku would be there soon. They were heading once again to their island; it was the weekend - something that had become precious now that school was back in his life. They were planning to camp on the island over night, staying in either the tree house or the shack, none of them were quite ready for the cave yet.

"Sora they're here!" he heard his mum calling and glancing at the clock he realised he was already late… he still had to find his sleeping bag.

"I'll be right there!" he shouted and started rummaging around his room.

"No you won't." a voice told him from the door, "Which is why we came up to help." Kairi told him smiling, Riku walked past her and headed straight through the wardrobe she giggled at the expression of annoyance on his face.

"Thanks guys." Sora said, walking over to Kairi and gently kissing her cheek before going back to his searching. She blushed slightly, still not entirely used to their developing relationship but enjoying every moment of it none the less. She could still hardly believe they had come back to her.

"Come on Kairi, you're almost as lazy as he is." Riku told her having fruitlessly searched the wardrobe. She smiled at him, knowing his irritation was only an act, he was as happy to be there searching as she was. It was normal and it was wonderful.

* * *

Having eventually located the sleeping bag, which Sora had hidden under his bed (behind a pile of comic books and school supplies) for safe keeping the three of them had headed across the small gap of water in their small boats.

Kairi had appointed herself the task of sorting out their sleeping area in the tree house as the boys sparred on the beach. It was quiet up there and once she had finished; putting Soras bag between hers and Rikus she sat on the ledge watching her two friends for a while.

The sun was high in the sky and reflected sharply across the water and the two sparring keyblades as they moved swiftly across the sand. She could hear Sora laughing at Rikus taunts and couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips.

Her year without them had been confusing and painful, forgetting Sora had been the worst thing about it but now that all seemed like a distant dream. Aside from the voice of her nobody that occasionally entered her thoughts life was pretty much what it had always been.

"Kairi, you coming?" Sora shouted and she waved to him.

"Be there in a minute." And she jumped from the entrance, landing as neatly as she could onto the rough path below.

Running over to them she watched Sora switch his keyblade from Oblivion to one she had never seen before. Despite this though it was still familiar and the small chakram attached to the chain on the end reminded her sharply of a member of organisation XIII.

"Bond of flames." Riku told her, leaning over to explain what Sora hadn't gotten around mentioning yet; he seemed almost mesmerised by the blade in his hand "Axel gave it to Sora on the way to the world that never was just before he faded." She looked somewhat shocked by this.

"I didn't realise… I just thought he'd faded with the other nobodies, Sora told me he apologised for the kidnapping but didn't say anything else." she sounded saddened by the knowledge although she really didn't know why she should have been, she barely knew him. But then she realised that without his actions she wouldn't have ended up in the world that never was and that – if nothing else she could be thankful for.

"He died protecting Sora, took out an army of dusks in the process."

"Because he wanted to see Roxas right?" Kairi asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah." Riku looped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring hug, not knowing what else to say. He looked ahead to his best friend who was still staring intently at the blade and practicing moves along the small expanse of beach. For a moment his mind took him back to watching Roxas do the exact same thing… only the blade was different. The similarity was eerie but not unexpected; they were two halves of the same whole after all.

"You should go spar with him."

"Why? So he can fight with someone he can actually beat?" Kairi asked her voice a little more light hearted than before.

"We drew actually" he smiled at her, "I was thinking more that you might enjoy it, you seemed to last time… or were you just flirting with Sora."

Her face turned scarlet. "Both." She answered before running to her boyfriend in case Riku asked anymore questions.

Kairi willed her keyblade to appear in her hand as she approached Sora, he saw her and grinned widely, Bond of flames dropped to his side.

"My turn!" she told him enthused

"You sure you're ready?" he taunted, fire playing behind his eyes.

She laughed "Always Sora." And she stepped back, dodging his first attack with ease but he caught her with the second. Kairi loved a challenge though and had been practicing with Selphie, no where near Soras level but better than he though she was and his eyes widened when she landed a hit.

Riku, who was stood watching a small distance away laughed openly as he watched his friends challenge each other, tension growing between them as they did… it was going to be an interesting weekend.

* * *

Kairi sat snuggled up against Sora; he held her close to him and fixed the blanket that was wrapped around the two of them. Riku had headed off to find some more wood for their fire and, she suspected given them some time alone.

"You're getting better." He told her as they watched the flames rise and fall in front of them.

"Thanks, you and Riku are good teachers… when you're not bickering." She added, the two boys had argued for most of the afternoon about the best combinations for attacks and magic.

"Hey, that's called a difference of opinion." Sora smiled and tilted his head down to kiss her rose scented hair, taking in the smell of her shampoo he pulled her closer still.

Feeling the familiar tingle flow through her body that accompanied his touch she shifted in the sand to be facing Sora and stared into his deep blue eyes.

"I still can't believe you're here." She told him honestly, her happy go lucky appearance disappearing in the wake of serious violet eyes; she had wanted to say something about it for a while now but didn't want to dampen their happy mood. Talking about the end of their adventure always seemed make Sora distant and sad.

He took her hands in his, holding them to him in an attempt to prove his existence.

"Sometimes I can't either Kairi, but I am." Sora smiled warmly and honestly. She could see so many emotions flicker across his eyes and was inwardly thankful for his openness. The familiar lump rose in her throat, one that had stopped her so many times from saying what she wanted to but she needed to say it. Now that she and Sora were together she didn't want to be apart from him.

"If… If you ever leave again… I want to come with you, you and Riku." The words tumbled out with a determined air to them and Sora almost laughed, almost but didn't. Laughing about this wasn't going to solve any problems. Kairi wanted a truthful answer.

"Honestly I don't think it would be a matter of you being taken with us. Now you have a keyblade I think you'd be needed just as much as we would." A red flush greeted his cheeks with the admission and Kairi's smile beamed.

Leaning forwards she placed her lips gently on his and as he released her hands she wrapped her arms firmly around him. Sora reciprocated the motion, pulling her gently down to the sand with him lips still moulded to hers and the blanket in a tangled heap on top of them both.

Weaving his fingers through her red hair, aglow with the sight of the fire behind her he couldn't help but smile against her. Noticing this Kairi moved to look down on Sora; she gasped quietly and moved her hand to his cheek, wiping away the tear that formed there.

"You're crying." She sounded worried and she rubbed her salt water stained fingers together. "Are you okay?"

Sora looked confused and released the hand tangled in her hair to touch his face. Kairi was right…. _But how?_

"I'm fine… I'm more than fine Kairi. I don't understand why." He paused, knowing that this had happened before but unable to understand how Twilight Town and this were connected. Before it had been because Roxas was leaving his friends, now he failed to see the connection between kissing his girlfriend and anything his nobody would have done; at least that he could remember. He tried to search through what he could recall from his dreams but the faces were distorted so he gave up.

Looking up at the concerned look on Kairis face he reached up and pulled her close to him again.

"Must be because of the fire or something stinging my eyes." He told her, they both knew he was lying but he couldn't think of another way to explain it.

* * *

I know there wasn't much Axel Roxas in this one, there will be more next chapter. constructive criticism and reviews are more than welcome xx


	2. Sleeping lion

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom hearts 1 or 2, they're the property of square enix and Disney. No money has or will exchange hands as this story was purely written for entertainment value. Original characters, worlds and storylines do belong to me.

Authors note: Many thanks to all those who've reviewed, added this to their favs or alerts your support means a lot. Also thanks to my two beta readers L-Zero–Zeta and Kevlin. There is, as promised more AxelRoxas in this chapter, this seems to be an increasing trend in this story - the more chapters the more i seem to focus on the two of them.

* * *

Chapter 2 Sleeping Lion

_Roxas had become something of a light sleeper in the recent moths, never able to truly reach undisturbed sleep. It didn't help that the woman in the room next to his possessed somewhat unusually loud mood swings. So when the door of his bedroom was pushed ajar and light streamed into his darkened room he rose drowsily from his sleepy state._

"_Roxas… you awake?" the voice asked, gruff and nervous as the figure it belonged to stood in silhouette in the doorway._

"_No." he replied deadpan despite being curious to find out what it was Axel wanted, disturbing him at night hadn't been something that occurred between the two of them. Normally if they were going to spend the night together they did just that. Not barging in at 3 in the morning when Roxas had a mission the day after… thinking about it he realised that Axel had been out scouting for the same thing._

"_Oh ok." He paused, sounding nervous for the first time since the two of them had met._

_Sitting properly and suddenly regretting his choice of words, the blonde called out as quietly as he could so that no one else in the castle would stir._

"_Come in, I was just… I don't know, tired I suppose." The closing door reverted the room back to its darkened state and for a moment Roxas couldn't tell whether Axel had decided to leave or enter._

_The small flame that erupted in front of him answered his question almost immediately; it lit the room in flickers of red light before stopping in front of him as the man who'd conjured it reached the bed._

_Shaking himself out of his trance he reached to put on the room light before a strong arm stopped him._

"_It's ok Roxas, I don't need it." He breathed deeply almost as though he was out of breath. "I know it's late but do you mind if I stay here tonight?" _

_The key barer thought about it for a few seconds, then realising Axels grip on his arm was tightening by the second he replied._

"_Sure. But you're going to have to explain what the hell happened out there. I've never seen you like this before." The concern etched in his voice was probably the most genuine he had expressed and his 'heart' – or whatever it was that allowed him to feel ached in his chest._

_His answer came when he was released from the fireweilders grip and instead pulled forwards into strong arms that held him so tightly he felt his breath escape him._

"_Axel?" _

_But the read head still didn't speak, just fell down towards the soft mattress Roxas having no choice but to joint him. Just as he was about to forcefully push the older man away Axel moved of his own accord, leaving enough space between them so their eyes met in what little light made it into the room._

"_I missed you." He said at last and Roxas was slightly confused._

"_Is that all?" he asked trying to sound caring as apposed to irritated. "So nothing went wrong whilst you were scouting? No one was hurt?" _

_Axel shook his head. _

"_You don't understand" his emerald eyes looked saddened. "I missed you and I've never felt it like that before… I just really wanted to see you as soon as I got back so the feeling would stop."_

_Roxas was thoroughly confused by this but never the less leaned in closer, letting his free hand wander and play with the hem of the red heads shirt underneath the covers._

"_You've missed me before Axel; we had the conversation the other day… you told me this was how it felt …when you were whole." He almost whispered the last words still embarrassed to be saying them as if somehow it was forbidden and they would be caught._

"_This was worse Roxas, it's like the more time I spend with you the more painful it is to be away… especially when I'm away by myself." He stopped when he felt a cool hand run underneath his shirt and slowly explore his back. "I was worried that if I waited until the morning you would be gone." _

"_I would be." The key barer murmured as he leaned in towards Axel, something unreadable playing in his eyes as he started to place kissed along the redheads neck moving slowly upwards until he reached his mouth._

"_Roxas…" his eyes were heated and he started to run his fingers freely amongst the younger boy's hair._

"_I love you too Axel." Roxas breathed taking the other by surprise._

"_Wait… I never said I..." _

"_You didn't have to." _You missed me, that's all I needed to know

"…" _There was no answer he could give to that, not verbally anyway. So he moved the small distance remaining between them and moved in to kiss the boy next to him. The boy he loved for whatever reason that made it possible._

_Roxas sighed as Axel rolled to be lying on top of him, some of the fire he was used to seeing in his lovers eyes was returning and he knew no sleep lay ahead of him that night.

* * *

_

Sora woke with a jolt, darting into a sitting position even as he opened his eyes, the last dream had been too vivid to forget so he sat there shivering in the cool night air as he tried to regain his composure.

"You wanna talk about it?"

He jumped again at the voice, his face a deep crimson by the time he turned to his best friend.

"He talks in your sleep Sora, even if you don't." Rikus voice was calm and he regarded his friend with concern. "We should go outside; I think it's probably best not to disturb Kairi."

Soras eyes drifted towards his sleeping girlfriend, she lay there with a small smile on her face, her hair spread across the pillows and reflecting the moon light perfectly. She looked beautiful, which was why he stood, grabbing is jacket and followed Riku quietly down the steps of the ladder. He didn't want her to have her night disrupted because of his dreams.

They sat just underneath the tree house entrance, Sora leaning against the firm tree trunk and Riku sat a small distance from him. There was silence between them for a while, the older boy giving his friend time to collect his thoughts before starting to talk about it properly.

Eventually Sora found his voice.

"It's like I'm watching his past from a small distance, I see everything he dreams or maybe it's him remembering I don't know. Then when me and Kairi were on the beach before I started crying… well at least there were tears on my face, but it wasn't me who was feeling sad." He took a breath, still trying to calm himself down. "I just remember seeing the sunset and the firelight behind Kairi."

Riku nodded slowly, moving his hair out the way of his eyes with his free hand.

"Axel." He said gently, earning a nod of agreement from the brunette.

"I knew they were friends but they were something more weren't they." Sora found he couldn't quite look at his friend, embarrassed by the admission of what he'd seen as more images flashed through his mind.

"Yeah, a lot more." The silver haired boy told him.

"So when I kissed Kairi on the beach…"

"It reminded Roxas of the boy he loved." There was a degree of guilt across his features and despite knowing he had done what he had to do the regret that he helped to separate the two nobodies forever stayed with him. Even knowing that Roxas had left the organisation of his own accord didn't lift the feeling, Diz, Naminé and himself had erased the boys memories – even of his former lover. It hadn't seemed fair then and didn't now.

"But how? I thought we were the same person again." Sora was confused, no one had bothered to explain to him what it all meant and Kairi didn't appear to be having any of the same problems he was experiencing. But it wasn't something they had discussed.

"… You are, but for over a year Roxas had his own life in the organisation before he left and completed you. It maybe that in some part of your mind he's coming to terms with everything he's lost."

"Oh."

"He'll never fade completely Sora, but he shouldn't be affecting you the way he is now. Especially not talking through your sleep." Rikus serious tone worried the brunette.

"I wish I could stop watching his memories, they're kinda personal and I feel like I'm intruding."

"Perhaps that's why he's showing you." It was only a suggestion but it made more sense the moment he opened his mouth. He could imagine how trapped Roxas was feeling; not being able to be your own person in your own body was something he could relate to.

"I don't understand."

"He wants someone to know what happened to him in his short life; he wants to share the memories of the person he loved so he doesn't feel so alone." Rikus voice was gentle, almost as if he was aware Roxas was listening.

"Because I was there when Axel faded?" Sora asked, still trying to search for the answers in his mind.

"Maybe, but I was thinking more along the lines of you being his somebody. You're the only person he can tell, unless he and Naminé have found a way to communicate."

"Yeah, that would make more sense." He told Riku, looking a little embarrassed at his dense comment.

Smiling, the silver haired boy got to his feet and offered a helping hand out to Sora.

"Might be worth a trip to Radiant Gardens to see if there's anything in Ansems records that will help." he said, pulling his friend to his feet and noticing the other boys eyes light up at the thought.

"Yeah maybe, be good to take Kairi there too – she hasn't seen the town yet."

"I'll send a message to the king – you try to get some more sleep ok?"

Sora nodded inspite of himself and hoped that Roxas would let him be for the rest of the night.

* * *

_The sound of Axels gentle breathing beside him didn't provide the usual lull into sleep he had become accustomed to. Even the lanky arm draped over his chest did nothing to calm the youngest nobody, he couldn't sleep and there seemed to be no way to change that._

_Admitting defeat he slid silently from the sheets, being careful to move the red heads arm in the process and headed towards the window. Sitting there, the moon casting eerie shadows across his pale skin with his eyes shining in the reflected light like crystal orbs he looked the picture of peace and contentment._

_But inside he was screaming, louder and louder with each passing day and mission… Xemnas said they had no hearts; that they could not feel – it was the essence of who they were. But if that were true then how had the man learned to hate? Why did he feel anger? They too were emotions._

_The simple answer was always given that they 'pretended' to feel because they could remember what it was like. But it didn't settle well with Roxas… something that in itself unnerved him. He was feeling alright, he had been doing much more than that recently and it may not have been as close to real emotions as the others remembered them to be but it was far more than nothingness. _

_There didn't seem to be anyone to ask about this, besides Axel and he knew the red head trusted Xemnas as much as he did. He could approach Demyx but he didn't think the musician needed anymore excitement in the area of his heart… which he constantly insisted he still had, at least when Xemnas wasn't around._

"_What am I?" he whispered to the glowing heart moon outside his window, then sighing and knowing that no one would answer him he glanced back to the bed wishing he could be lost in the same dreams as his lover.

* * *

_

"So-oo-ra!"

"Mmm" he grumbled, trying to ignore the voice and slip back into the land of peace and nothingness. He couldn't remember having dreamed again, either way it didn't matter because the end result had been a decent half nights sleep.

"So-oo-ra!" but the voice he knew to be Kairis was persistent, he wondered how long it would be before she climbed back up the wooden ladder And pulled him out of bed… maybe it was worth the wait.

It seemed that she'd reached the end of her patience already; he could hear her climbing the ladder muttering to herself. He couldn't help but smile at her efforts – however annoying they could be.

"It's nearly eleven O'clock Sora, Rikus gone to message the king about borrowing the Gummi ship – he said something about visiting some of your friends" she told him as she came to sit cross legged next to his sleeping bag, which he was hiding underneath. "I made you breakfast." She added quietly; thankful that he couldn't see her reddened cheeks.

Peeking out from underneath the covers Sora smiled.

"I guess I'm kinda hungry…" he teased, still not completely willing to leave the comfort of the sleeping bag.

Kairi laughed and reached over, grabbed hold of the zip and pulled it all the way down to the bottom.

"Come on lazy bum, it's probably already gone cold."

"Kairi" he grumbled moving into a sitting position and taking her hand quickly pulling her down towards him. "Just a little longer?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled leaning for a quick kiss, but Sora had other ideas. He looped his arms around her neck and held her to him effectively stopping her from pulling away. It crossed her mind for a moment that he was ignoring the offered breakfast… but only for the second before the butterflies whirred in her stomach and she found herself unwilling to break away from him. Deepening the kiss Kairi ran her free hand along Soras back, careful not to reach lower than she was ready for and stopping at the hem of his shorts.

"Ahem." It was unclear how long Riku had been standing at the door but by the expression on his face it had been long enough to come to the right conclusion. The brunette had made his way to his girlfriend's neck and she herself had stopped in the process of slipping her hand under his shirt.

"Hi Riku." Kairi managed to utter, her face as read as her hair but she was still brave enough to look up at him. "I just came to get Sora for breakfast."

_More like have him for breakfast…. _"Riiight." The look on his face was somewhat worse than that of Soras mother when she had caught the pair on the sofa and soon her butterflies were weighed down with guilt. It was almost as though she had been caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

"Ah… what did the king say?" Sora decided to ask to try and turn the attention away from the current situation.

"The ship should be here by next weekend, he's having it upgraded, he was curious to know why exactly we wanted to borrow it, but I explained the situation and he said it was fine."

The brunette shifted uncomfortably, Kairi had already moved into an upright sitting position against the wall.

"Everything?" he scratched the back of his head nervously, hoping that Kairi hadn't picked up on anything. He still needed to figure out how to explain it all to her.

"Just that you needed to check the records on Organisation XIII again, he said he understood." Rikus answer was casual and if the red head did have any questions she didn't appear to be voicing them having taken to studying the book she had taken from her over night bag intently, her face still a deep shade of crimson.

* * *

Reviews, comments, constructive criticism are all very welcome. Thanks for reading! 


	3. Sweet Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom hearts 1 or 2, they're the property of square enix and Disney. No money has or will exchange hands as this story was purely written for entertainment value. Original characters, worlds and storylines do belong to me.

Author Note: Thanks once again for all your reviews, putting this on fave lists or alert it really does mean a lot! This chapter is a nice long one, which will hopefully make up for the fact that my next chapter might take more than a week – doing a bit of a rewrite. Anyway, enough from me. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 3 Sweet Memories

"_Here." _

"_Thanks." Roxas accepted the blue tinted ice cream the red head offered him with a rare smile and let his fingers linger against the older nobodies longer than he needed. _

_Axel grinned to himself, deciding just to enjoy the silence between the two of them. It was a rare state of peace that a couple of evenings a week they headed to Twilight Towns clock tower to enjoy._

_Trouble was though that he was starting to do more than just enjoy it and it was becoming somewhat less calming…. It was fast approaching frustrating._

"_What?" the blonde asked him, bringing the red head out of his reverie. Roxas himself was sat with his legs swaying ever so slightly over the ledge of the tower, aimlessly licking his ice cream as he looked out onto the city below. _

"_What?" Axel replied with a smirk._

"_You look like you're planning something… who's your victim this time?" the blondes right eyebrow was raised accusingly to match his tone. He didn't like the look on the fire wielders face – it always spelled trouble for him. Not that I won't go along with it anyway, whatever it is._

"_I'm not planning anything." He smirked again. "I'm just thinking."_

"_About?" he tilted his head to try and catch the corner of Axels' vision. His efforts were rewarded when deep green eyes turned to face him, a surprisingly serious expression evident in them._

"_You sure you want to know?" there's that smirk again._

_Roxas considered it for a moment, unnerved by eyes still fixed firmly on his own. Actually – if he was honest with himself he was more than just unnerved… he could feel the colour rising in his cheeks as thoughts better left unsaid flew through his mind. _

_Unable to speak, in part due to the ice cream that was still resting against his bottom lip he just nodded in response… if only to stop those green, green eyes which were probably, by now, reading his mind._

_But Axel simply smiled and turned back to take a bite out of his ice cream._

"_It's melting." He stated simply, taking the moment to cool down and dispel some of the tension in the evening air._

_The blonde once again found himself unable to speak so he quickly solved the problem of the melting ice cream. Leaning back he stretched his right hand along the ledge they were sat on his fingers found themselves resting next to his friends but he didn't pull back even when Axels fingers slipped on top of his. _

_He found he liked it if that was even possible.

* * *

_

"Wanna tell me what's going on?" pushing her hair behind her ear with one hand and brushing the other against the curved trunk of the paupu tree she approached the boy sitting on the end. "Sora?"

It had been three days since the conversation regarding the Gummi ship and until now Kairi had been happy to let the subject slip but it was nagging in the back of her mind and she wanted answers, she hated being kept in the dark when her friends were in some kind of trouble. Riku pretended as though nothing was wrong – ignoring the way Sora drifted off during class far more than normal and the almost sorrowful expression she saw in her boyfriends' eyes.

He turned to her, somewhat startled by her presence and not sure what to do about it. He didn't want to lie to her – just didn't know how to put the truth into words…_ how do you explain the dreams of another part of yourself? How do you explain a relationship that was never supposed to be?_

"I don't know." He told her honestly, reaching out his arm to her. "Do you… Kairi, have you ever seen Naminé in your dreams?"

Taking his offered hand and stepping into his embrace she shrugged. "I think so." She told him a curios smile on her face "But I don't really remember many of the details… except for one dream a few weeks ago."

"What happened?" Sora asked her gently.

"Nothing really, Naminé just talked to me, we were in Twilight town – the mansion I think she said it was, showed me her drawings and tried to explain why she had acted the way she did during the year you were gone." She leaned her head on Soras shoulder "It was kinda nice actually; I don't feel as confused about having her thoughts pass through my own anymore."

"Does it happen a lot?" his question sounded casual but Kairi was beginning to get the feeling that there was more to it than that.

"Hearing her thoughts?"

"Yeah."

"Not really. Just every now and again, it's like she's settled or something."

Sora put his other arm around her linking his own hands together trying to take comfort from her presence. Roxas' anxiety however, seemed to pass to him and he shuddered despite the afternoon heat.

"Sora?" her voice was quiet, rubbing her hand along the back of his school shirt she continued her question, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know what you'll think of it all… it's kinda embarrassing."

"Try me."

Sora motioned for the two of them to sit on the tree trunk; Kairi nodded and accepted his help as he lifted her onto it, careful not to snag her uniform on the trunk. He followed, straddling the branch and took her hand in his own.

"For a while now… perhaps since I returned I've been dreaming of Roxas' past – when he was in the Organisation at first I couldn't remember them but they've been getting clearer and clearer."

Kairi nodded slowly rubbing her thumb along her boyfriends' knuckles as he spoke, knowing it wasn't her place to interrupt.

"And lately they've been getting more meaningful and some of them are… well - kinda intense." He didn't want to say anymore, deciding to wait for a question rather than tell her the rest.

"How exactly?"

He bit his lip. "Ahhh, Roxas was… he and Axel were-"

"Oh." Kairi cut him off, suddenly holding his hand tighter.

The silence that fell was uncomfortable but perhaps because of their contact it wasn't as bad as Sora had been expecting.

"That would explain a lot." She spoke slowly and when he looked at her he could see the smile on her face.

"What?" he asked wondering if she was going to tease him, he didn't quite trust the glint in her violet eyes.

"Naminé mentioned that as well."

"How did she know? I didn't think Naminé and Roxas met before his memories were altered."

Kairi smiled gently as if she somehow knew their nobodies were listening.

"I don't think so but she did know Axel and I get the feeling she could see his memories in the same way she could see and alter yours and mine. He was attached to Roxas and thus in some way, to you." In her mind the red head could almost hear her nobodies agreement, but it was as if she was remembering the fact herself rather than having it confirmed by another voice.

"Does it bother you?" Sora asked her as he slid himself along the trunk closer to her.

"Does what bother me?" she furrowed her brows in confusion.

"… that a part of me was and I suppose still is in love with someone else?"

For a moment she considered it, thinking perhaps that it _should_ matter but knowing in her heart that it didn't. She still couldn't see Roxas and Sora as the same person, they had lead very different lives after all and unlike Naminé, the organisation member had no idea of who he had previously been.

"No. I don't think it does at all."

Sora scooted up behind her, taking her gently into his arms from his place at her side.

"Even if Axel was the one who kidnapped you so he could hurt you and get to me?"

Her answer was faster this time.

"No." taken aback by this Sora loosened his hold on her.

"How?"

"Do you hate him for what he did?" she replied, knowing he would understand her reasoning without further explanation.

"No… I can't. I was destroying everyone he knew so that I could find Riku and you… he was doing the same to get the person he loved back. He didn't have a heart… just seemed to be trapped in one feeling. Just wanting – " a sob escaped from his throat stopping his conversation and Kairi turned quickly in concern.

"Sora." Her voice was quiet as she took him firmly in her arms, cradling his head against her shoulder. She felt his hot tears seep through the thin cotton of her shirt and had to bite her lip to stop her own. Kairi didn't even know which of the two she was comforting, deciding after a while that it must have been both because she doubted his nobody had this much control over her boyfriends body. So she held on tightly until the tears resided; half wishing there was someway to talk to Roxas, to help him directly and ease the pain so they could all stop hurting.

* * *

The sun had almost completely set when they reached the mainland dock. Kairi had rowed them both back in her boat, Sora either too exhausted or just unwilling to take his own, he'd just climbed in after her setting his rucksack next to her bag.

Neither had really spoken during the small crossing and at one point Kairi had considered Sora had fallen asleep. But when she had tied up the boat carefully in an effort to let him rest he had opened his eyes and given a weak smile before reaching his hand out to her and slinging his bag over his shoulder.

His eyes were still blood shot and puffy from crying but he felt better, as if some of the grief had been let out. Squeezing Kairis hand to get her attention he nodded his head towards the end of the pier.

Riku was sat on one of the supports that jutted above both the water and the platform, his bag left lazily at his feet and his arms loosely crossed over his chest. Silver hair was blowing untamed in the gently breeze but aside from that he was perfectly still - Waiting for them.

"You guys want to stay at mine tonight?" he asked when they were in earshot.

Sora nodded, not wanting to face his parents at the moment, not sure he wanted to see anyone other than his friends. Rikus parents were hardly ever home so he knew they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Yeah okay." Kairi told him. "I'll let my grandmother know on the way home."

The silver haired boy nodded, standing and picking up his shoulder bag coming to stand next to Sora as the three headed back into the main town.

"Sora you can call your parents from my house if you want."

"Okay." It was the first word he had said in almost an hour and he squeezed Kairis hand again, this time to reassure her, he was starting to feel better and a little more like himself.

* * *

_The library was one room Axel had never been entirely comfortable with – he always felt as though he was expected to read, an activity he found little pleasure in. But thanks to Roxas and his love of the written word he found himself in there more often than not with a book open in his lap that he had no intention of reading. _

_Roxas was lying across one of the sofas; engrossed in the latest novel he'd found amongst the tall shelves and Axel was sat with his legs stretched out on the cold marble floor just in front of the Blonde. _

_Normally the red head took to napping quietly until his friend was ready to leave but just as he had been happily nodding off he felt tentative fingers brush through his hair._

_Roxas wasn't entirely sure what he was doing; only that the events of the previous evening had refused to leave his mind and he wanted to see how far the new impulse or whatever it was could be taken. He wanted to know what Axel would do in response, he just hoped he wouldn't be pushed away._

_He continued to weave his fingers through his friends hair, paying about as much attention to his book as Axel was. He noticed how smooth it felt in his bare hands, glad of his own decision to remove his gloves. _

"_Roxas?" the sound of his name being almost chocked out silenced his hands movement. Axel turned to face him and the blondes hand slipped back down to his side. The green eyes that met his were unreadable; he just stared at Roxas heatedly for a few moments before clearing his throat. "Wanna go for ice cream?"_

"_Yeah." He breathed, glad for Axels close contact, otherwise his words would have gone unheard._

_The older nobody stood and waited for Roxas to do the same but he was fixated in putting his gloves back on._

"_Don't bother." Roxas looked at him questioningly; hoping that the flush in his cheeks would go unnoticed. "Might want to loose the jacket too – don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves." The younger simply nodded at this. "We can stop by your room on the way if you want."_

"_Okay." Embarrassed at his own lack of vocabulary Roxas followed Axel quietly, his insides turning over and over as he wondered what exactly they were doing.

* * *

_

Having passed out in exhaustion on Rikus couch as soon as they had arrived Sora had managed to miss most of the evening, leaving Kairi to call his parents.

Neither his best friend nor his girlfriend had the heart to wake him, hoping at least that he was peaceful. He made no sound other than his gentle breathing for which Riku was thankful for; No one needed to be witness to what he had heard the other night. Least of all the red head on the other side of the room.

Kairi was curled up on the other sofa with her homework in front of her. Being the only one of the three to have attended school during the two years of their adventure meant she tended to be their source of last minute homework help. In fact the three had been lucky to end up in the same year, only Soras' exceptional scores from the year their first adventure had begun saving him from being put in the year below. Riku, a year older than the others wasn't exactly overly bothered about being put back a year at least now he would graduate with his friends.

Closing her folder and textbook Kairi slipped them both back into her bag, leaning back against the couch and sighing. Riku walked towards her, placing the glass of fruit juice he carried in to her open hand before sitting at her side.

"Thanks."

The silence was awkward, it was clear there was something Kairi wanted to say, but either she was too embarrassed to start the conversation or didn't know how to word it.

"He told you?" she nodded, sipping her drink before setting the glass down on the table to the side of the sofa. "How do you feel about it?"

Kairi shrugged, brushing her hands through her hair as if the action would give her the answers.

"I'm worried about Sora and Roxas – even if I know they're the same person at the same time I _don't._ It's not the same with me and Naminé; I'm not haunted by her past when I dream... I don't understand it."

Rikus smile was uneasy and nervous.

"It's because Roxas should be sleeping and he's not. His grief is so strong not because of the loss of his own life but because of Axel –"

"That's another thing I don't understand. How can nobodies _not_ have hearts? Axel kidnapped me, the way he spoke, the look in his eyes – he wasn't emotionless. He was passionate and he would have done anything to get Roxas back." She poured out interrupting her by now silenced friend.

"I don't know, but I agree with you. I doesn't make sense that they could love each other. I can tell you my theory, mine and Naminés." Scrunching her face up slightly in a silent question Kairi looked at the silver haired boy. "There's probably a reason she hasn't shared it – it's just a theory."

"Go on." She prodded gently.

"Perhaps they could feel without a heart, they just didn't have a place to keep all those feelings in order, nothing to balance them out and no way to control them. It would explain Xemnas' behaviour as well as Axel and Roxas."

"It's not fair." She whispered standing and kneeling in front of Soras sleeping form. She started to stroke his hair smiling to herself when his spikes set back into place.

_No, it's not._ Riku said inwardly, pushing his memories from his time with Diz and Naminé from his mind once again.

* * *

_Axel had bought them the ice cream from a vendor by the accessory shop before the two of them headed in silence to the clock tower. _

_Walking slightly behind the taller, Roxas found himself unable to look away from the man in front of him. He looked better without the coat and his black shirt clung in all the right places, showing off his toned slender figure. And the sunlight catching the tall spikes of red hair made it look almost alive with flame._

_The fire mage turned and smiled as they neared the entrance that lead to the top of the tower, opening the door as he did so. Roxas was dumb struck, not really understanding why he was feeling this way, only knowing he wanted to be closer to the reason for it… Axel._

_Climbing with an ice cream in his mouth had been some what difficult but he had managed it, they both had and now at the top of the tower, watching the sunset as they had so many times before Roxas couldn't help but sense the change in the air._

_It could have been the different clothes – he wearing the white jacket he had appeared in over his organisation trousers and black T-shirt, but if he believed that Roxas knew he would be kidding himself._

_Watching Axel once again, he noticed the careful way he ate his ice cream, sucking a little then choosing to nibble off the parts he'd drained the flavour from. It took his mind to places he knew he shouldn't. Red hair once again running between his fingers, swollen lips on his… he shivered at the guilty thought, thinking it safer to focus his gaze forwards._

"_You cold?" Axel asked._

"_No." he shook his head chancing a glace at the fire mage who had either finished or discarded his ice cream._

"_Wanna come here anyway?" _

_Roxas turned his head sharply, mouth slightly open as he tool in the nervous smile on Axels face and his open arm waiting for an answer. His stomach flipped sharply and he felt a rush of something from his head to his toes leaving him tingling slightly and he wondered vaguely if his hands were shaking._

"_Yeah." He nodded slowly then carefully slid along the ledge until he met Axel's strong arm around his shoulder and the warmth of his body next to his. Looping his right arm around the red head a small sigh escaped his lips and he leaned his head on the older boys shoulder, slow enough that if Axel objected he had plenty of time to tell him. _

_Instead he felt the weight of another head on top of his and what felt like kisses being planted into his hair then his forehead. Roxas blinked slowly as he tilted his head to meet Axels gaze, the jade eyes that met his looked almost liquid and as a hand rested against his cheek. _

"_You're hard to read, you know that?" Roxas smiled at the question, leaning in to the rough hand against his face and placing kisses against Axels palm._

"_I know." He whispered as he felt Axel press his lips against his and Roxas reciprocated, dropping his ice cream from his hand and slipping his fingers into the silky red hair as he was willingly pulled closer and closer._

_It felt normal, it felt human and for the first time in a long time something felt right.

* * *

_

Reviews, comments, constructive criticism very much appreciated – I really like knowing what you all think of this story.


	4. Acrossing Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom hearts 1 or 2, they're the property of square enix and Disney. No money has or will exchange hands as this story was purely written for entertainment value. Original characters, worlds and storylines do belong to me.

Author note: Thanks to MDRLOz (formerly known as L Zero Zeta) for betaing this and all my other chapters for me. This one went through several rewrites so I hope I finally managed to get it right…. Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed, read, added to alerts or favs your support means a lot to me.

* * *

Chapter 4, Acrossing two

The rest of the week had passed quietly, the three almost inseparable – staying at one of their houses each night until the weekend arrived. Telling their parents they were going to the island again they had little protest, it was a normal activity for the three after all.

Sora had brightened up as the week went on, explaining his dreams had settled down again for the most part. There had been two occasions in which he had awoken screaming but Kairi and Riku had been there to settle him quickly enough.

They were now in the Gummi ship which had been sent via auto pilot and extended to include a sleeping area, Sora sat at the helm despite it being in auto to Radiant Garden and Riku sat at his side.

"Have you tried talking to him?" the silver haired boy asked when Kairi had fallen out of earshot.

"Roxas?" Sora already knew the answer when he spoke. "I don't really get time to try and I don't know if I really want to… I kinda want to leave the two of them together – even if it is only a dream. He's happier in his memories… nothing like the boy that attacked me in the world that never was."

"You know why he did what he did don't you?" Rikus voice was gentle and even, not wanting to push his friend but at the same time knowing that letting Roxas live in his façade wasn't doing anyone any good.

"Yeah… he'd just woken up after Axel faded." And Sora found he couldn't look at his friend as he spoke, his eyes searching the control panel for something to take his mind from the conversation.

"Look, just try and talk to him next time if you can. Let him know we're trying to help ok?" again Rikus voice stayed calm and Sora finally looked at him, nodding.

"I will." Then he stood, leaving Riku in charge. "I'm going to see how Kairi's getting on with the supplies." He told the silver haired boy, darting off in the direction of the storage room, next to the sleeping quarters.

* * *

"Do you remember any of this?" Sora asked his very excited girlfriend as she took in the shopping district of Radiant Gardens.

Shaking her head Kairi answered, "None of it, but it feels familiar." Reaching into her black side bag that hung from her belt she headed over to the accessory shop talking with the man who ran the store before handing over munny and putting the small object away in her bag.

Running to catch up with the two boys she caught onto both their hands as they headed towards Merlins house. Riku regarded her with a smile in his eyes, she never left him out of anything – neither of them ever did and he silently thanked them for it.

Leon was waiting just outside the house for them, nodding in greeting to each one.

"Nice to see you again Sora, Kairi. Good to finally meet you Riku."

Letting go of Kairis hand the oldest of the three stepped forwards and extended his hand in greeting. "Good to meet you too. Sora told us how you helped him, Donald and Goofy. Nice to put a face to the name."

Leon gave a rare smile shaking the boys offered hand before gesturing inside.

"Cid's linked Ansems computer to the terminal here to make it easier for you to access and Tron left a message saying all data had been extracted. I hope you can find what you're looking for."

"Thanks Leon." Sora smiled at the older man as they walked inside. Only Yuffie and Merlin were there and the ninja was happy enough to introduce herself to Kairi and Riku – offering to show them around properly. The brunette nodded for them to go on ahead and sat down at the terminal.

"You got any clues of where to start?" Leon asked, taking a seat besides Sora.

"Not really, I just need to see if I can find anything useful on one of the members of Organization XIII. From what Riku told me this place was updated until shortly after Roxas joined the organisation."

"Roxas?" the older man looked puzzeled.

"Number XIII in the organisation… long story." He realised then that the subject of his nobody hadn't come up while he'd been in Radiant Garden, in fact this was the first time he'd returned after Xemnas had been defeated.

"Well good luck, I'll leave you to it." Leon told him, standing and leaving the room.

Looking around Sora noticed that Merlin had fallen asleep, book open in his hands. Laughing quietly at the sleeping wizard and stifling a yawn himself as the result of a week of troubled sleep was beginning to take its toll, he began to search through the database in the hope of finding something.

* * *

_Proof of existence, somewhere Roxas found himself walking through several times in the past few days – ever since the lights started to turn red on their panels. At first, when Vexens' changed he hadn't understood what it meant, Demyx had explained in the end. Blue meant they were still alive… red meant that they had faded._

_Since that day four more had turned to red leaving only eight blue including his own. It meant that for some reason or another everyone except Axel, who were sent to castle oblivion were now gone. He could only hope with all his non existent heart that his wouldn't turn as well._

_He thought about using the portal attached to Axels wing of the castle but couldn't quite imagine being there without him. Not wanting to return to their rooms either he ended up rested against the wall, constantly watching just in case something changed._

_He barely registered the sound of a dark portal opening at his side and he jumped when a hand came to rest on his shoulder. Looking startled he turned to the intruder, a small smile meeting his lips as he look upon the familiar red hair and facial tattoos._

"_I thought I'd find you here." Axel commented, sliding his arm around the blonde's shoulders. Roxas visibly relaxed into his hold even sliding an arm around his back._

"_You back for good this time?" _

"_Yeah." There was a somewhat sorrowful – or as close as Axel could come to that – expression in his eyes as he spoke. "It's finished."_

_Roxas regarded him carefully waiting for further explanation, although not really expecting one._

"_You can't tell me can you?" and Axel simply shook his head and rested his chin on the others unruly blonde hair, breathing in his scent deeply. Everything he had done in that castle was for the soul purpose of keeping Roxas safe, the fact that it happened to tie in with any plans Xemnas had was a fortunate coincidence for both sides._

"…_Rox?" _

"_Yeah?" he had shifted in the hold Axel had placed him in and tilted his eyes to meet the green ones staring questioningly at him._

"_You know that I care about you as much as a nobody can right?" the question was unexpectedly blunt. Axel never seemed to use words to expresses his 'emotions', the reason for it had to be linked to whatever had happened on his mission._

"_Yeah…" he leaned up and let his fingers run over the diamond shaped markings on Axels face._

"

* * *

It took a moment for Sora to realise where he was and even longer for him to realise he was dreaming _Must have been more tired than I thought_. He stepped through the door that had been left ajar in front of him, entering the dark room lit only by the faint pink light of the moon.

He regarded the blonde boy sat on the window seat carefully and scanned the room to see that Axel; or at least a memory of him was asleep under the sheets of the large bed to his left.

"Roxas?" he asked gently, not sure what his reply was going to be and wondering vaguely if he could even summon his keyblade.

"You can come closer you know, I'm not going to hurt you and he won't wake up. We both know he's not even really here." Roxas didn't turn to face him, just waited – sat in his boxers and T-shirt waiting for Sora.

The brunette obliged and came to sit next to him, it was only then that the other boy turned to him.

"I know you're trying to help me… but Sora I don't see how looking through the database will do any good."

"I don't know either to be honest I was hoping something would just kinda pop out at me, I wish there was an easier way." He said, scratching the back of his head.

"And I wish I could go back." Roxas whispered, blue eyed boring into Soras. "No matter what happened in the end it was my home for a year, that castle was all I knew… Axel, Demyx, Luxord and the others were all I had."

Silence fell between the two of them and the blonde eyes once again fell on Axels form, Sora simply sat there as a thought that had entered his mind before took hold. Realising this might be his only chance to ask his question he spoke.

"Why did you leave?"

"The Organisation? Because I – " but Sora cut him off shaking his head.

"No, why did you leave him? You loved him as much as a nobody is able and I know how he felt about you… I don't understand."

Roxas was silent and Sora considered he might not get his answer at all.

"Does it matter? Riku would have come for me anyway and at least this way Axel was spared a little longer." He replied after a while.

"It matters Roxas because without knowing why none of this makes sense to me. I've seen enough of your memories to know how close you two were, I don't know why you would want to leave that." Sora was trying his best to explain his reasoning, needing to know before he woke up.

"Why didn't you return to Destiny Islands with Kairi when you had the chance?" Roxas countered.

"Because I knew she'd be safe where she was and Riku was my best friend - I couldn't just leave him behind." Sora sighed. "This doesn't answer my question; I don't see how it's the same."

"No, you wouldn't. But even what I had with Axel wasn't enough to stop me wondering - to stop the nagging feeling in my chest every time I used the keyblades. No one would tell me why I had them and I knew they knew – not all of them but Axel knew." Voice raised and hands balled into fists at his side. "He knew about you but he couldn't tell me, Xemnas would have destroyed him if he had."

"Roxas…"

"You couldn't go home without taking Riku with you and I couldn't stay not knowing who I was. Keyblade bearers are supposed to be those with strong hearts, for good or evil. Nobodies don't have hearts… yet I had the keyblades." Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly he felt himself begin to calm. "I always intended to return once I had my answers… but Axel was safer there than with me."

Silence fell between them, Roxas with nothing more to say and Sora finally begging to understand his nobody, hoping that perhaps it would help to close the distance between them.

"Did you find your answers?" Sora asked him softly, reaching out to place his hand on his others shoulder.

"No. Riku got in the way and by the time I did find out I also understood what had to happen to me… it was my place to complete you. I couldn't run from that, no matter how much I wanted to."

"I'm sorry." Sora knew it wasn't good enough and he wondered if there was anyway to solve the problems he had inadvertently caused.

"I know but you can't change what happened, just find a way to fix this." Roxas fixed the other boy with his matching blue eyes and Sora nodded silently, hoping that he could do just that.

* * *

"_Roxas what the hell?" when Demyx had told him the keyblade bearer was in something of a mood he hadn't quite expected to see a half naked Roxas tearing through the former rose garden that lay in the western side of the castle. Something had pissed him off and Axel damn well hoped it wasn't him._

_Throwing a chakram in his direction, the fire wielder waited for the younger nobody to turn to face him, he couldn't justify the risk of getting that close to Oathkeeper and Oblivion. When Roxas finally did turn, he fixed his azure eyes on Axels face with a murderous stare._

"_Roxas?" he asked carefully, trying to find a reason for his actions._

"_I want out." Came the cold reply, he was walking towards Axel and the older of the two was suddenly afraid of what exactly he meant. _

"_Of?"_

"_The castle." Axel sighed in relief, aware that there was more to it but at least he wasn't asking for the other type of end… because that was one he knew he wouldn't survive and if that was to happen he would wish he really did have no heart…_

_Without Roxas nothing mattered… nothing and as weak as it sounded he couldn't deny it's truth. Before his arrival Axel had simply existed, following orders not caring who he stepped over in the process. But things in the world that never was had change and he along with them, he found he had things to look forwards to and something to care about… Axel had no wish to go back to how it was before._

"_I'm guessing you don't just mean for ice cream." _

"_No." Roxas sighed, sending his keyblades away and with them managing to release the tension and anger that had flowed through him moments before. "No Axel." He closed the distance between them, reaching up and kissing him roughly. _

_Knowing what was inevitably coming when the younger backed away again he placed his fingers over his mouth when Roxas went to speak._

"_Don't say it – "_

"_It won't be forever, just long enough for me to find what I'm looking for." The fingers tracing his lips were shaking and the look he saw in the green eyes focused on him almost moved him enough to forget his reasons for leaving._

"_Please." The words were forced and desperate and Roxas had to close his eyes from the emerald orbs above him. "If you don't tell me I can't betray you." It was a lie, they both knew that but it was easier to say than the truth. Axel had known for a while that Roxas would leave to find his answers but ignoring the fact made his existence easier to bear._

"_It won't be anytime soon Axel, not while everyone is watching my every move" The redhead nodded in acceptance of the fact and tried once again to dispel the others anger._

"_Demyx was just worried about you and a little upset you ruined his favourite part of this castle." _

"_Oh." He surveyed the damage, petals strewn across the pavement, vases smashed into tiny pieces of white or grey marble… the only thing left intact was the fountain. At least that was something. "I couldn't help myself…"_

"_I know." and Axel pulled Roxas to him once again holding on as tight as the blonde would allow. For a moment Roxas didn't reciprocate as if analysing the situation before shifting his head against the tallers chest. _

* * *

With the help of Tron Sora had managed to access the current map of worlds when he had finally woken up, finding distinct traces of the world that never was. It had been a long shot but it seemed it hadn't completely disappeared.

"Find anything?" Kairi asked, handing him a sea salt ice cream when she approached.

He smiled. "Thanks." When Riku came to stand with the two of them he continued. "Roxas mentioned wanting to go back home… World that never was and it turns out that part of it is still there"

"Okay…" Riku commented, clearly wanting more of an explanation.

"I think that we should go, I can't think of anything else we can do. Unless you guys have come up with anything?"

They both shook their heads, Kairi leaning on the edge of the terminal for support, she seemed a little out of breath now that he noticed.

"You okay?" he asked, sliding his arm around her waist.

"I'm fine, Yuffie took us down to the old castle gates for some practice." Taking another bite of her ice cream she smiled. "Then she decided it would be fun to race us both back here." He didn't need to ask who won, the ninja still hadn't returned and it looked as though his friends had time to buy ice cream along the way.

* * *

"You coming with us Riku?" Kairi questioned as she plotted their course to The World that never was into the Gummi ship controls.

"Ah…I won't be leaving the air ship if that's what you mean." He averted his best friends gaze as she spoke, choosing instead to study the view of Radiant Garden below him.

"Why?" Kairi prodded gently.

Riku hesitated, quickly meeting the redheads gaze before looking away again.

"Because of what I caused, I just think it would be best to stay out of Roxas' way." He answered quietly and Kairi shook her head in mild exasperation. Her silver haired friend still retained the habit of turning his mind towards the negative.

"Riku you only did what you thought was right. No one could have expected anymore than that. Without you Sora wouldn't have been able to continue his journey and the Organisation would have won."

"Doesn't matter, still doesn't change what I did to them."

"Riku…" she reached out to him, placing her hand on his arm tentatively. He didn't shy away this time and instead chose to face her, silently thankful that Kairi was the one asking and not Sora. He wanted to avoid enraging Roxas any further, already aware from his growing affect on his best friend that his moods were somewhat temperamental.

"I knew what their relationship was and I knew what I was doing. But I wouldn't allow myself to accept Roxas as anything more than a lesser version of Sora, a poor copy that didn't deserve his own existence. I didn't know what would happen when the two joined together and I didn't care."

Kairi was silent for a few moments, trying to choose her words carefully. "Was there ever another option?"

"….No. We were running out of time and Naminé couldn't finish her work without Roxas." Kairi felt the familiar sense of agreement flow from inside of her; she knew the other girl was listening.

"Then there's your answer." She sighed. "Roxas' decisions are already tormenting him and Sora - I don't want you hurting over this as well." Her voice became quiet he could see the tears welling in her violet eyes.

"Alright. But I'm still going to stay with the ship, out of respect for Roxas and the memory of Axel if nothing else."

Kairi nodded slowly, accepting his decision as she wiped her eyes with her free hand, leaning back into the passenger seat and breathing deeply. Riku sat silently at her side, waiting for Sora to return so they could finally find Roxas' answers.

* * *

My exams are over now so I should have the next chapter up within the week. reviews, comments, constructive critism all welcome and very, very much appreciated.


	5. Oblivion

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom hearts 1 or 2, they're the property of square enix and Disney. No money has or will exchange hands as this story was purely written for entertainment value. Original characters, worlds and storylines do belong to me.

Authors note: Once again thanks to everyone who has reviewed, alerted or favourited this story – please let me know what you think of this if you have the time. This chapter hasn't been fully beta'd for a number of reasons but I've gone over it countless times so I hope it's okay. Sorry it's a bit late, things in the real world have been taking their toll recently. Anyway, on with the last chapter.

* * *

Chapter 5, Oblivion

The World that never was had become a great deal smaller since the last time they had been there and only a small part of the city still remained around the castle. Kairi couldn't understand why any of it was still there after the battle that Sora and Riku had been a part of but it was at least as far as proof of existence anyway.

On stepping through to the white marbled room she relinquished her keyblade, this area seemed to be clear and at her side she saw her boyfriend do the same. His features looked tense and she squeezed his hand in reassurance.

Sora wanted nothing more that to leave this place and head back to the Highwind but he knew they wouldn't be leaving until _he was ready_. Roxas needed to find peace, to grieve finally and leave the tormenting dreams that haunted their shared soul behind.

They had barely walked a few steps inside when Sora felt the split and he knew it was time for him to step back with Kairi and let his nobody alone for a while, something he hadn't thought possible until it happened. They stood in silence as Roxas stepped towards the furthest panel to the left on the first row, 'flurry of dancing flames' was engraved at the bottom and they both knew who it belonged to.

Summoning Oathkeeper and Oblivion Roxas let himself fall to his knees, forcing the blades into the red panel as he did so head hung low and eyes searching the pattern of chakrams below him for his answers. He was silent for the longest time, simply staring below him eyes wide and uncertain.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, his voice barely travelling at all but Sora could hear him, the same way he had in the dreams. "I shouldn't have left it the way I did… I should have found some other way… but I had to go… I had to…" he felt the lump rise in his throat and the familiar knot in his chest.

There was no cure for the ache that all but brought tears to his azure eyes and he wished, not for the first time that he could stop feeling again… at least with a full heart. But he knew, whole or nobody that _this_ pain would be the same.

His mind taunted him with the memory of his lover, his arms around him, that smile, his temper… everything.

"_You make me feel alive Roxas" _The words surged his thoughts again and again and without meaning to he let a sob escape, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment to try and stop the tears he could feel welling inside him.

After a long moment Roxas relinquished the keyblades and opened his eyes, unable to understand what he saw before him, the panel was now lit with a low blue light and the doorway that had once lead to Axels area of the castle had appeared in front of him. Without questioning it or looking to Sora he stepped forwards into what remained of Axels part of the castle. He didn't want to risk it being an illusion that would once again disappear.

* * *

"Do you think we should follow?" Kairi asked quietly, unable to understand what had just happened. None of the other panels had changed, she was inwardly thankful for that at least.

"Yeah." Sora's voice was quiet as he led her to the same door his nobody had stepped through moments before.

It lead to a large balcony area surrounded by the remains of tall marble pillars, some lay in pieces on the floor others stood tall under the ebony sky but the entire area had been scorched. For a moment Kairi was witness to the reason for the ugly black marks that destroyed the grey marble pattern that had once flowed like gentle flames across the white balcony. Naminé had seen it happen when Axels fury had been at its highest and the memory was as vivid as it was disturbing, it was his final act before he came to kidnap her…

She watched as Roxas made his way towards the front left hand corner, there at least the pillars remained mostly intact.

* * *

"I wish you were still with me or that we both could have faded… because I'm alive – I'm still here and I… if this is what it feels like, to exist in a world without you… I don't want it." He took a deep breath, calming his voice. "I want to be nothing more than part of Soras memories… I don't want to think… to feel…I...I" clenching his fists at his side he summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion once again.

Kairi, almost moved to tears herself took refuge in Soras arms. Her eyes were still focussed on the boy in front of them and she could hear the whispers of Naminés memories echoing her own sadness. She understood now just how much they had once meant to each other developed a deeper understanding of why Axel had kidnapped her in the first place.

Roxas couldn't contain his frustration and he lashed out at the remains of stone pillars in front of him slashing away as the anger flowed through him. Tears burned trails down his cheeks and he cried without reserve.

"I want this to end." He screamed, this time his voice masked by the sound of blades against stone. His movements were relentless as if somehow destroying this place would cause the pain to cease.

"_No you don't."_ strong arms wrapped around him from behind and immediately ceased his raging keyblades.

Kairi breathed in sharply and Sora froze in a shocked silence, the figure that appeared held a more translucent quality than the keyblades wielder who appeared to be almost whole. But he was still there….

Roxas couldn't move, keyblades disappearing and tears ceasing. He knew that voice and the feelings his touch invoked were unmistakeable. But it was impossible.

"_Who's to say what's possible anyway?" _The voice answered as if the comment had been spoken aloud and Roxas could feel his breath tickle the skin below his ear, shivering in response.

"I watched you fade… through Sora, I watched you die Axel." His words came through gritted teeth, more than anything in all the worlds Roxas wanted this to be real, he was shaking slightly; on the verge of succumbing to his emotions again.

Slowly, making sure to keep contact, the translucent figure moved to face the boy he had come to love, something it seemed he had gained after death. Taking in those bright blue eyes that now shone with such a depth of sadness that Axel was taken aback. He tried to smile as he spoke.

"_I'm not what I used to be but I'm here… don't know how long for though."_ His green eyes flickered in what was left kingdom hearts as he scratched his head in thought and Roxas reached up, needing to know that this was real and stroked his fingers across the taller mans cheek. Tears welled in his eyes again when he confirmed what his heart had already told him and he fell forwards into the strong arms opened to him.

"Axel" he whispered as more tears fell, silent and steady. "I'm sorry –"

"_I know, I could hear you. You did what you had to do… I should be the one apologising but I don't know if there's enough time for that."_

The Axel loosened his hold and weaved his hand through Roxas hair.

"_You need to let go, to move on. You're whole now…everything we nobodies ever wanted to be."_

"This wasn't what I wanted… how could it be? I exist but I don't. I feel emotions that don't belong to me I see Sora and Kairi happy together everyday and all I can think about is why we couldn't have that." His azure eyes were as dazzling as they had always been and Axel couldn't help but hold him close again.

He had turned against the organisation and done things he didn't want to recall in an effort to get his Roxas back, he'd wanted their lives to be better but the dream of having a full heart again was just that – a dream. Saving Soras life had eased his regret alittle; at least one of them could be whole again.

But Roxas had a point… you could be human without being whole. This Axel knew only too well; _wasn't that after all how the darkness in your heart won and heartless were born?_ There had to be away to make Roxas see that his life could be better than this.

"_I tried everything I could Roxas, I went about it all the wrong way… but you have to understand that there is no way to change this… we had a year to ourselves…. Just… please just wait until the next life okay?"_ It seemed that Axel wasn't entirely convinced by his own words and he held Roxas closer still.

"But you said…" Roxas's voice was muffled against the leather of the Axels coat.

"_I'm here now right? What's to say I won't be there next time?"_ loosening his hold so he could look at him again Axel wiped some of the remaining tears from his lovers face.

"It's not… it's just not –" but firm lips covering his own silenced his train of thought as he reacted almost immediately, forcefully reciprocating the action, hands sliding up around Axels neck.

* * *

Sora couldn't find the words as for the first time in weeks he felt the other part of his heart settle, but at the same time he remained uneasy. This couldn't last - regardless of the fact that Axel was standing before them he knew it couldn't last…. _Could it?_

"Sora…." Following the direction of Kairis outstretched hand he gasped. The two figures in front of them were entirely solid.

* * *

"_You got a pretty strong heart calling me back like this."_ Axel breathed, fingers entwined in the Youngers hair and eyes fixed on his tear stained face his bruised lips were parted slightly.

"I…I did this?" his eyebrows furrowed slightly and Axel smiled.

"_Yeah Roxas; but I can't stay here anymore than you can."_ He glanced back to the couple standing near the doorway.

Roxas sighed, resting his head against Axels chest and allowing a once familiar feeling of warmth to take over his senses as arms tightened momentarily around him.

"I know." He whispered, wanting to enjoy what they had for as long as possible, the smell of leather - of Axel so real and so alive. It wasn't long before he looked up again, noticing the fire mages closed eyes and peaceful expression. _Please…._ He silently begged as he leaned up gently to brush his lips against the others. A kiss much softer than before and he tried to memorise every detail in the hope that it would make it last that little bit longer.

* * *

"How?" Sora uttered, the words slipping from his mouth.

"_The same way the three fairies managed to bring Maleficent back."_ The voice that replied did not belong to the girl at his side but was familiar all the same. The figure appeared in front of them smiling gently at the two, brushing her blonde hair behind her ear.

"Naminé." Kairi beamed, clearly happy to be face to face with her counterpart again. They embraced briefly before the blonde move to stand in between her somebody and the brunette.

"_They can stay together if you allow it Sora." _Her voice was soft but laced with a hint of sadness as she watched Axel and Roxas cling together with a violent desperation.

"I don't understand." He replied, his voice equally as soft.

"_You don't have to, but you already know what you have to do."_ Turning his attention to her he followed her gaze to Kairi. _"You've done it before." _

Soras eyes widened momentarily and he reached his hand to his chest bringing it to rest on his crown medallion. Taking it all in he once again fixing his eyes on the pair in front of them and he found he didn't mind the idea of another presence. It seemed after all like a reasonable exchange.

"Will I still see the dreams?" he asked, knowing his mind was already made up.

She shook her head._ "No… it'll be up to him whether or not you'll be allowed to walk in his dreams. It always has been; you share your heart and soul but your minds are separate." _Sora nodded slowly, starting to walk away from the two girls.

"Naminé?" Kairi asked already a little shy about her question. She had waited until Sora was out of ear shot. "Is that where you go when I sleep? To another place?" The blonde focussed her eyes on her other and reached out her hands to her, thankful when Kairi reciprocated.

"Yes, but I-"

"No need to explain, I just wondered if you were happy." The redhead told her. "..I don't like the idea of you ever hurting as much as Roxas has been."

Turning her gaze to the open portal where she was sure the silver haired buy was now residing a small smile crossed her lips.

"I am." She told Kairi simply, thinking inwardly of the nights she spent walking and conversing with _him_ her unlikely unconscious companion. Never destined to be anymore than a friendship but more than enough for Naminé.

* * *

Roxas turned in Axels' arms to see Sora walking towards the pair of them and looking distinctly nervous.

"I don't want to go back yet." The blonde told his somebody feeling Axel tighten his grip around him.

But Sora shook his head. "I'm not here for that. Naminé's…" he sighed, running his hand through his hair before he tried to continue. "What I mean is… you don't have to fade to nothing again Axel." He turned his eyes nervously to the tall redhead who looked silently determined to protect Roxas whatever the cost.

"What?" Axel asked when the realisation of Soras words finally came.

"You mean we can stay this way?" Roxas asked tentatively.

"Ahh…Not exactly, but you'll be together…." And he tapped his chest gently a few times to try and get the message across. "Just in here."

Roxas regarded his other carefully, searching his cerulean eyes to test the truth of his statement. He nodded slowly when he realise how exactly this could happen, feeling Sora allow him access to more of his memories.

"Kairi. But is this the same?" He asked cautiously, Axel was sending him a confused glance.

"I don't see why not… from what I think I understand I won't know anything about it. He sleeps within your part of us and when I sleep you can be… you know." A faint blush met his cheeks as he explained.

Axel, who seemed to have gained an understanding of what was happening, chose to speak up, his hold on Roxas had loosened slightly but he still felt the need to be protective of him.

"You would do that? After everything I did to you?"

Sora nodded firmly. "Yeah." But the redhead continued to stare at him, trying to size the boy up.

"Why?" Axel questioned and Sora shrugged.

"I know what it feels like to be constantly searching for the people that make you whole." He gestured to Kairi who seemed to be in quiet conversation with Naminé. "It's the least I can do for Roxas and for you."

Axel wondered if the kid blamed himself for the way things had turned out, after all he had been the one to kill Demyx and so many of the others. Now it seemed he realised there were more to nobodies than just the empty shells Xemnas had made them out to be. Or perhaps it was something much simpler than that, maybe he just wanted Roxas to be happy to feel the way he felt everyday. The keybearer had always appeared a little bi-polar so either reason could have been true.

Either way Axel smiled and nodded appreciatively, unsure that such a small gesture could convey his gratitude. Looking down at Roxas once more he mirrored the youngers small smile.

"Roxas…" he whispered, leaning to brush noses with the blonde his voice shaking slightly as emotions he had fully regained in death found their way to the surface.

"I know." he lifted his hand to the others chest, knowing he wouldn't feel the beat of something lying beneath but at he same time knowing that there was something different and words weren't good enough to describe what they were both _feeling._

As Axel placed a hand over his and press his forehead gently against his own Roxas sighed softly as he felt himself willingly fade back into Sora, knowing this time he wasn't alone. The soft kisses placed on his lips reminded him of that, his eyes were closed but that didn't matter, he didn't need to see to know Axel was with him.

* * *

A/N: I do have plans for an epilogue but that depends on a number of factors at the moment, going to see if people liked the end or not first…. Then there is all the other stuff – as I'm sure many of you appreciate – in the real world that gets in the way. for now though thanks for reading.

Please review and let me know what you think – constructive criticism is more than welcome. Thank You.


	6. Epilouge: Way To Dawn

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom hearts 1 or 2, they're the property of square enix and Disney. No money has or will exchange hands as this story was purely written for entertainment value. Original characters, worlds and storylines do belong to me.

Authors Note: Well this is the final part… thanks so, so much for all the reviews, faves, alerts, your comments have been wonderful and helpful. I look forwards to finding out what you thought of this. Big thanks to my Beta's (although he hasn't seen this chapter he did help with the rest) L-Zero Zeta and Kelvin. Also to Yuna, Ashe, Marrianne, Kym and SallySam for their help and support these past few weeks.

Anyway – on with the ending!

* * *

Epilogue, Way To Dawn

Sora was in the small cave that held the keyhole to their world when Kairi found him. He was stood with a small stone in his hand finishing off a drawing on the wall.

"Riku has the barbeque ready outside." She told him and he smiled as he turned, motioning for her to see what he had been doing.

A grin spread across her face as she took in the rough drawing of Axel and Roxas stood before the pillars in the world that never was and coming to stand besides him Kairi laced her fingers through his.

"It's really nice Sora; they'd appreciate it if they could see it." She told him, her head coming to rest on his shoulder.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Sora scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "I wanted to leave something of them here – with all our memories."

The small cave was almost completely covered as it was, Kairi had taken to drawing the important places and events they had come across on their travels and Riku had done the same. It seemed since they had returned from the world that never was it had been easier to enter their childhood hide out, like another weight had been lifted from the trio.

"You okay now?" she asked quietly, squeezing his hand.

"Yeah… yeah I am." He answered with a smile, turning so her head left his shoulder and they were face to face. "Thanks to you and Riku yeah." Then seeing her relieved expression he mumbled "Come here." Wrapping her in his arms and holding her closely.

He couldn't be sure if he felt a tear fall on his shoulder as she held him closer to her but she didn't appear to be crying. She was just happy he reasoned and as he placed gentle kisses in to her rose scented hair he realised that now all the battles had been fought and two lovers reunited that he would have the time to get used that feeling.

* * *

Roxas had wandered out to the balcony of a wing in the castle, bathed in the daylight he had chosen it looked almost beautiful and devoid of kingdom hearts it lost the eerie pink glow that once seemed to fill the empty spaces and marble corridors.

Taking a deep breath and letting it pass out slowly he surveyed the landscape around him – they could choose to go anywhere either had been before and yet more often than not this was where they ended up. It made sense, given that his happiest memories from his non existence had taken place within this place… or twilight town.

"Thought I might find you here." Axel's voice carried clearly from the doorway and Roxas smiled, not bothering to turn round when he heard the footsteps approach him.

"Really?" he asked, smirk evident in his words.

"Nah, but it doesn't really matter – not like you can hide from me anymore." Lanky arms wrapped around him as Axel spoke and Roxas felt his body tense up as warm breath graced his ear.

"I…"

Axel, realising the meaning of his words hadn't come across he tried to explain himself.

"Roxas, I didn't mean it that way I." he paused. "It doesn't matter now." Feeling the blonde turn in his hold he looked down at him, trying to judge his reaction.

"I know… I just can't help the regret."

Axel nodded knowingly and reached to run his fingers through the soft golden locks of the younger teen before him.

"It'll leave you long before I do Roxas, don't dwell on it, okay?" He asked and Roxas smirked.

"Not going to ask if I've 'Got it memorized' or anything?" Roxas retorted, mimicking Axel beautifully.

Smiling in spite of his fake anger Axel felt his heart settle, his Roxas was back - humour lighting his eyes in a way he hadn't witnessed in the past.

A quiet moment passed between them, Roxas searching green eyes for his answers. It seemed though that he had found them when he pushed himself onto the balls of his feat to meet the redhead's lips and slid his hands around his neck gently playing with Axel's hair as the taller deepened the kiss.

Sighing, Roxas pushed Axel towards the door through which he came, being careful not to loose the contact or fall over in the process. It seemed though that Axel had other ideas, picking him up with his free hand and positioning Roxas' legs around his waist in such a way that meant he could carry him.

Roxas broke away slightly, laughing at the action as they made their way through the hallways of the castle.

* * *

Having fallen asleep long before his friends Riku walked along the silent beach like he had often done before. He was dreaming, at first he hadn't been sure what was happening but Naminé had explained it well enough. His friendship with her had allowed him to converse with her in his sleep – when she fully awoke inside Kairi.

He hadn't known what to make of it all at first but he found the presence of the petit blonde comforting. Sora and Kairi still didn't know everything he had been through and despite her being a nobody he had always viewed Naminé in a different way to Roxas. At first he had thought it was because of the help she had given him in Castle Oblivion, but it was more than that. He had never really associated her with anyone else not seeing her as something expendable – not putting the pieces together that linked her to Kairi until long after they had first met. So he had gotten to know her for who she was… not as the way to save his best friend.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Sora and Kairi were taking their time." He heard her say as she made her way across the sand.

"It's fine, they deserve their time alone." He replied, then turning to face her. "Do you mind if we go somewhere else?"

Laughing softly at the question she closed her eyes and the scene around them switched to that of Twilight Town. It was quiet and dark, the tall streetlights, shop signs and those that marked the trams path creating the only light. The whole place had a peaceful air to it and despite the events that had transpired there Riku didn't mind returning – if only in his mind.

Walking close to his side Naminé followed as Riku lead them around the path of the tram, he hadn't really spoken about what had happened in the world that never was and she hadn't pushed him.

"You look happier." She told him, carefully smoothing out her hair that had fallen into her face.

Riku turned to her, shock evident in his dark green eyes at the comment.

"Ahh."

Naminé smiled softly. "Kairi has noticed it to." She paused, thinking her words over carefully before adding. "You're more relaxed now. It suits you."

"Thanks." His voice was quiet and he reached his hand over slightly catching her fingers with his own he squeezed them briefly then let go. He missed the bemused look that flashed across Naminé's face.

"I wanted to ask before." Riku stopped and moved to sit down, his legs dangling over the edge on a higher part of the walkway, Naminé followed. "Did you know what would happen if Roxas went back?"

"To the castle?" she asked and the silver haired boy at her side nodded. "Not exactly, I knew it was possible, Castle Oblivion had nearly as many volumes as the Castle that never was… some where in the research notes it was mentioned that a strong heart can bring another back."

"Roxas certainly has that." Guilt once again seeped through his words and Naminé placed her hand on top of his reassuringly.

"He doesn't blame you, no matter how angry he was. He knows now what you were fighting for."

He fixed her blue eyes with his green ones. "How do you know that?" he asked quietly.

Biting her bottom lip she explained. "I've spoken to Roxas about it – and Axel, on the few nights Kairi and Sora sleep before you do."

"Oh." And although he made no further comment on the matter, Naminé could see him return to his relaxed demure.

He leaned back, allowing his hair to flow softly in the breeze behind him, catching the lamp light in such a way that his hair appeared like spun gold instead of the usual silver. It brought back memories of other nights such as this in the real twilight town when Diz had let them alone. Only now the hidden agenda and the danger was gone, a gentle kind of peace left in it's wake.

"Come on." He suggested, taking her hand and lifting her to her feat. "I wanna check out the view from the top of that tower." And she smiled, happily standing and following his lead.

* * *

Roxas allowed a giggle to escape his lips as he tried to move away from Axel's fingers, but his feet tangled in the sheets prevented him from escaping completly.

It had started out with Axel tracing patterns along Roxas' naked chest and had developed into a full blown tickling attack. It seemed whatever heart he had acquired in death only heightened the pleasure the redhead got through teasing him.

"Oh come on Roxas, it can't be _that _bad." And Axel went for him, moving his fingers quickly up and down the youngers side. Laughter erupted from the blonde despite his best efforts to stifle it.

"Axel… enough… p… please." He managed to say, laughing so hard his chest ached and his eyes watered.

He had almost given up his protests – part due to his lack of speaking ability - when Axel suddenly stopped, deep green eyes staring down at him, His lips were parted slightly and there was an odd expression on his face.

"What?" Roxas asked quietly, finally catching his breath and reaching his hand up to trace Axels jaw line. Wondering what had brought on the sudden change.

Leaning into the gesture the redhead sighed, bending down and placing a firm kiss on Roxas' lips. Reciprocating Roxas smiled inwardly, catching glimpses of red hair that looked as though it was alight as day light streamed in from outside.

Eventually Axel pulled away again, bringing Roxas up with him so they were sat face to face amongst the crisp white sheets.

"What?" Roxas questioned again.

"I _love_ you." He said quietly, unable to hide the smile from his face. "I know somebodies say it all the time without really meaning it but Roxas… I _love _you, I think that in some way it's the same feeling I felt back then only more intense…" His voice was louder and his hands rested on Roxas' shoulders a wide grin had spread across his face and it occurred to Roxas that he'd never seen him so happy.

"I know and it's…." Axel pulled him against his chest holding him close, but it wasn't in the same desperate way that he has in the castle a few weeks before. He felt calm and cared for in the embrace and most of all warm and safe - Like it didn't matter what was happening in the world outside his mind, he didn't _need _anything else.

Roxas started to place chased kisses along Axel's collar bone smiling against his skin as a moan escaped Axel's throat. Shifting position he brought his lips to the older boys, feeling the motion reciprocated he lowered himself down to the mattress, Axel following soon after with a different more wanting look in his eyes.

Silently Roxas sent his thanks to Sora for allowing them the chance to live their lives in a way their previous existence hadn't allowed. But any other thoughts or reasoning were evaporating under Axels touch and, he realised with his last coherent thoughts, he wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

As always reviews and constructive criticism are more than welcome! I just hoped this chapter answered some of the questions left open from chapter five. This has been a joy to write and i've really enjoyed all the comments along the way. Thank you for reading. Arami


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